A Dino Day Out
by DrawnToDarkness
Summary: A trip to the museum with her nephews is anything but relaxing for Jess.


Title: A Dino Day Out  
Rating: T  
Disclaimer: The premise of Primeval and its characters don't belong to me, no money is being made and no copyright infringement is meant. I'm just playing in the Impossible Pictures/Watch/ITV sandbox for a while.  
Note: My first Primeval story, after re-watching series four and five three times in as many weeks. (Seriously. Addicted.) I'm in love with the S4/5 team, particularly Jess, and particularly the Jess/Becker dynamic and I hope I'm able to do it/them justice in this little adventure.  
Note 2: I've never been to the Natural History Museum so forgive any obvious errors on my part. I'll no doubt cringe when I eventually make it back down to London later this year.

* * *

The muted roar of a Tyrannosaurus Rex filled the room, quickly followed by the gasps, squeals and screams of its audience. Nervous laughter followed a small pause and parents exchanged sheepish glances above their children's heads while trying to convince themselves and each other that the animated model hadn't really scared them.

Jess Parker stared into the beast's calculating eyes and stifled a shudder. Even as an educational display, the sight of the T-Rex unnerved her and brought to mind memories she'd rather not dwell on.

In the months following the convergence and the revelation of anomalies to officials around the world, life at the ARC had been busier than usual. Time that would have been spent on covering up anomalies and fighting creature incursions was spent dealing with new policies and procedures and the many mountains of paperwork that magically seemed to appear on her desk every morning.

Though she was glad of the respite from their normal routine – there'd only been a handful of serious anomalies since the case of the missing train – Jess couldn't remember a time when she'd felt such a great need for a break away from the job she did, still, love.

The ARC agency was still growing strong and its existence was still widely unknown. Jess and her colleagues, thanks to the Official Secrets Act, still couldn't tell their loved ones what it was they did for a living and she found herself being more relieved than disappointed. In the wake of the convergence, she'd expected the project to go public but no, it seemed the people at large simply didn't want to know the truth and those who governed them were more than happy to oblige.

Jess had been kept busy creating and issuing cover stories that were eagerly believed by the masses – lies that comforted and reassured, and made it possible for people outside of the agency to sleep well at night and not fear the monsters that lurked in the world outside.

It wasn't so easy when it came to dealing with other countries, though. The England ARC team had initially spent weeks apart, helping various countries set up their own agencies to help them prepare for and deal with the anomalies that appeared on their own turf. Each newly established agency had needed a set of rules and procedures – mandatory red tape government officials seemed to love no matter where they were from – and somehow it had fallen on Jess to assist them.

In her two years at the ARC, Jess had never welcomed a day off work with more enthusiasm than she had when Lester had, grudgingly, approved her request for three days off...

... And then she'd ended up at the Natural History Museum, surrounded by bones and models of the very dinosaurs she saw in both her working hours and her sleeping ones.

"It's not very realistic, is it?" came a voice from beside her. Jess started, turning her head away from the T-Rex to look at the woman who'd spoken. Well-dressed with red cheeks Jess wasn't convinced was caused just by make-up, the woman motioned to the T-Rex with a nervous laugh, a hand subconsciously pressed over her heart. "It didn't scare me."

"Of course not." Jess allowed herself a small smile, seeing through the lie immediately. Maybe, she thought with an internal grimace, she was getting so good at telling lies that catching other people in the act was getting easier, too.

"Those robots, though, they're quite believable." The woman's gaze darted to the hallway leading to the next room of the dinosaur gallery. "The way they hiss at you as they wander the hallways." She gave a forced laugh. "For a moment, I swear I thought they were real. Then I thought there might be another gas leak and I was hallucinating – like what happened a few months ago?"

Jess merely nodded, her lips thinning as her smile grew strained.

"Terrible business," the woman continued, oblivious to her discomfort. "All those poor people, hurting themselves and each other, imagining they were fighting a dinosaur! And then those pranksters, making that fake footage that they showed on the news in the panic... Terrible, terrible business. Someone should have been fired for that!"

Luckily, Jess was saved from having to comment when a small girl with a dark scowl on her young features suddenly appeared at the woman's side.

"You said we could go to the 'quarium after lunch, Mummy!" The little girl whined. "I want to see the fishies! I'm _bored_!" She added loudly.

Colour flooded the woman's cheeks as she looked around to see if anyone had overheard, her blush deepening at the disapproval on several faces that were looking in their direction. "Now, now, Victoria. Of course we can go and see the fish. Come along now, let's fine your father and brother and we can go."

Without a word of goodbye to Jess, the woman hurriedly ushered her daughter away from the gallery. Alone, Jess looked around, her blue eyes narrowing as she scanned the groups of people around her for two familiar faces.

"Aunt Jess, Aunt Jess!" The familiar voice brought a genuine smile to her face. Robbie, her youngest nephew, dated through the crowds, leaving the demonstration of a fossil excavation he'd been half-heartedly watching. "Come quick, Aunt Jess!" He exclaimed, grabbing her hand and tugging until she moved. "Tim's being followed by the robots and he's _scared._"

The little boy sounded gleeful, thrilled at the prospect of his older brother being terrified by something. Jess almost found herself smiling again until a familiar golden glow in the corner of the gallery caught her eye. Small, it almost blended completely with the desert backdrop of the display it was beside.

Panic spread through her veins like ice and Jess tightened her grip on her nephew's hand. "Where's Tim now, Robbie?" She asked in a slightly higher pitch than normal. "And the... the robots?"

"This way, Aunt Jess!" Robbie willingly and enthusiastically led her to the exit of the exhibit, away from the crowds of tourists. "C'mon!"

Letting her nephew guide her, Jess reached into her handbag with her free hand and grabbed her mobile phone. Quickening her stride to match Robbie's, she pressed a button and lifted it to her ear. "Abby? It's Jess. Has the ADD...? I thought so. Yes, I'm there. Here. It's in the dinosaur gallery at the National Museum. I think there's been an incursion, unless there really are new dinosaur robots."

She kept her voice calm, not wanting to alert the young boy with her. When he slid to a stop, his grip on her hand tightening, Jess swallowed and nudged him to stand behind her. "Make that a definite incursion. What does it look like? Small and scaly. And hungry," Jess added, taking a step back as the creature took notice of her and turned away from where it had been clawing at the door of the men's toilets.

It hissed and took a step forward, tilting its head as its beady eyes locked with hers.

She let the hand holding the phone drop to the side even as Abby Maitland reassured her it would be okay. Making sure she had a firm grip of Robbie's hand, Jess eyed the distance between herself, the dinosaur and the door to the ladies room.

"Robbie," she said quietly, lifting the phone again but not putting it back against her ear. "When I say three, I want you to run as fast as you can to the ladies toilets, okay?"

"But I'm not a girl, Aunt Jess!" Robbie protested as only a six year old could.

"We'll make an exception this time," Jess murmured. "Now on three. One... Two... Three!"

As she said it, she threw the phone in her hand at the advancing dinosaur and simultaneously pushed her nephew ahead of her into the ladies toilets. Spinning on one electric blue high heel, she threw her weight against the door just in time to hear a muffled thud as the dinosaur in pursuit skidded into it.

Robbie stared up at her with round fearful eyes while Jess fumbled in her handbag for the spare comm. she kept for emergencies. Putting it in place, she used her nail to activate the built-in mic and speaker and, within seconds, a wave of familiar voices sounded in her ear.

"Confirmed creature incursion in the corridor outside of the dinosaur gallery next to the public facilities," she reported, her quiet voice cutting over those currently discussing the situation. She bit her lip as she heard the dinosaur hiss again before its body hit the door once more.

_"Jess!"_ Five familiar voices spoke her name at once in a combination of relief, worry and surprise.

"So much for a day off," Jess muttered to herself before forcing a reassuring smile on her face for her nephew's benefit. "It's okay, Robbie," she told him softly as the ever-calm voice of Matt Anderson, team leader, assured her they were only minutes away. "It's going to be okay."

To her alarm, tears filled Robbie's eyes and his bottom lip began to tremble. "What about Timmy, Aunt Jess? Did the robots eat him?"

_"Timmy?"_

_"Robots?"_

Ignoring her rising fear and the voices in her ear, Jess held out a hand for Robbie, drawing him against her in a reassuring hug. She forced herself not to think about the dinosaur's blood stained jaws and instead told herself firmly that Robbie's ten year old brother was smart and resourceful – and alive.

"Tim will be fine," she said eventually, kissing the top of Robbie's head on instinct. "I think he's hiding like we are, in the men's room next door. That's why the creat—the robots were trying to get in. I think. I hope," she added in a murmur, closing her eyes against the mental images racing through her mind suggesting otherwise.

_"We're here, Jess."_ She heard the smooth voice of Captain Becker in her ear and something inside her began to ease. _"Hang tight and we'll be there in a minute."_

* * *

Captain Hilary Becker ground his teeth together and forced himself to focus on issuing orders and not on listening to the voice in his ear murmuring gentle reassurances. He commended Jess on her ability to keep calm in a stressful situation – it was one of the many things he'd often admired about her at work – but he hated the underlying fear he could detect in her voice as she spoke to her nephew.

_"Who's Timmy?"_ Connor Temple wanted to know, his voice loud and clear in Becker's ear even though he was at the other side of the gallery, helping to clear the building while heading to the anomaly. _"I thought Robbie was her nephew."_

_"She has two nephews, Con."_ From the exasperation in Abby's tone, Becker surmised it wasn't the first time she'd explained the situation to her fiancé. _"Robbie's six and Tim's ten. They're staying with her this weekend while her brother's away."_

_"Timmy? Really? Like in the film?"_ There was a note of glee in Connor's voice that made Becker glare even though the scientist couldn't see him. It wasn't, in Becker's opinion, an appropriate time to find humour in anything, not with Jess in danger.

"To what film are you referring, Connor?" The confused question came from Emily Merchant, walking beside Matt, just behind Becker.

_"Jurassic Park!"_ Connor answered, obviously pleased someone had asked. _"The one with the dinosaurs and the kid called Timmy... You have to watch it, Emily... It's like... like research, but... Ow! Abby!"_

_"Not the time or the place, Connor_,_"_ his fiancée hissed, earning Becker's gratitude. _"Jess? You okay?"_

It was only when the blond woman asked that Becker realised the Field Coordinator had fallen silent. It was unusual for Jess to be so quiet and he was sure he didn't like it. He'd grown used to her near-constant stream of chatter, one that always seemed to last longer whenever he was directly involved in the conversation. He'd heard her babble to the others over the comms before but found it oddly endearing that she only seemed to get really flustered when she did it when talking to him.

"Jess?" He couldn't help himself from chiming in when she didn't immediately respond to Abby.

_"I think it's leaving," _Jess's voice was soft. _"It's not trying to get in anymore."_

Relief swarmed him, even as body went on alert at the thought of the creatures being on the move. "Everyone keep your EMD's ready. Let's not have any more surprises today."

Almost as soon as he'd spoken, Jess cried out as he heard the muffled sound of the dinosaur trying to get into the room again. He quickened his pace and heard EMD fire from across the gallery at the same time.

_"We have a visual,"_ Abby confirmed seconds later. _"Two, no, three of them. Con?"_

_"Ah,"_ there was a short pause. _"They're Juravenators, I think. Carnivorous theropds from the late Jurassic. Watch out, Abby!"_ He broke off to the sound of EMD fire.

Becker turned the corner to the corridor Jess had mentioned at a swift jog, biting back a curse when he saw not one but two dinosaurs taking it in turns to ram the door he knew she was sitting behind. No more than a metre long and half that in height, one of the juravenators hissed when it noticed them.

Before it could charge, Becker fired the EMD at it, smirking a little in satisfaction as it fell, shortly followed by its companion as Matt took aim.

"Get Jess and her nephews out of here," Matt ordered – unnecessarily in Becker's opinion. "We'll worry about getting them back through when we've done a thorough search of the building."

_"We're at the anomaly and Connor's locking it now,"_ Abby reported over the comms.

"Jess, it's safe to come out now." Emily approached the door, mindful of the unconscious bodies of the juravenators at her feet.

In a matter of minutes but what felt like a lifetime to Becker, the door to the ladies room opened and Jess walked out, a little boy clinging to her as she cradled him close. How she kept her balance holding him while walking in three inch heels, Becker couldn't say.

Other than looking a little pale and a lot stressed, Jess looked no worse for wear in her pale lemon coloured summer dress. Her eyes, though, were worried as they darted from the team to the door to the men's toilets to the bodies on the floor.

Becker followed her gaze when he caught her swallow and purposely turn so the little boy in her arms couldn't see them. He tensed at the blood on the floor and caught Matt's eyes.

"Let's go outside, Jess," Emily said, reaching for the petite brunette with a reassuring smile. "I'm sure your nephew would appreciate some fresh air."

"No!" The little boy jerked away from Emily's hand, almost causing Jess to lose her balance. As Becker watched, she deftly distributed their combined weight and managed to stay upright. "We've gotta find Timmy, Aunt Jess! We can't leave without Timmy!"

A helpless expression passed over Jess's features as she hugged her nephew close. "We'll find him, sweetheart," she murmured, "I promised I won't leave without him but I need to know you're safe, too."

"From the robots?" Robbie asked innocently, lifting his head from her shoulder. "Are they poorly? I saw a cartoon once where all the robots were poorly and started being bad. Mummy told Daddy off when she found out I watched it 'cause it was for big boys, she said, but I'm a big boy now. I'm six!"

"I know you are, darling." A strained smile curved the corners of her mouth. "And because you're six, I need you to do what I say and go with my friend Emily now. Let me look for Tim and, when I've found him, we'll all go home, okay? You can even pick what film we watch for being so brave."

Becker wanted to protest her plan and he could see from the alarm on Emily's face at the prospect of being left in charge of the child that she did, too. The imploring look on Jess's face, however, made him bite his tongue and caused Emily's shoulders to droop in defeat.

"Come with me, Robbie," Emily commanded, a smile keeping it from sounding exactly like the order it was. "I am sure I saw an ice cream van outside. Perhaps we could get something while we wait?"

With obvious reluctance, Robbie left the safety of his aunt's arms and stood beside Emily, obediently taking her proffered hand. It took another smile and reassuring nod from Jess before he let himself be led away, along the corridor and around the corner towards the doors leading both in and out of the museum.

"Jess..." Whatever he'd been planning to say was silenced by the look on her face.

"If Tim's hiding, he won't come out unless he hears a familiar voice," Jess interrupted. Worry and anxiety made her sound older, look older. He studied her and felt an answering ache in his chest when he realised she was struggling to keep herself together at the thought of possibly losing one of her loved ones to the dangers of their job. "I think... Robbie said he was in the corridor. When we got here, one of the dinosaurs was clawing at the door to the men's room."

In an instant, Becker found himself striding towards the door in question. "Stay out here until I've cleared the room," he ordered, his own concern making his voice brusque.

He didn't wait for her acknowledgement, just held his EMD in front of him as he pushed lightly on the door to the men's toilets. It was heavier than he was expecting and, after opening it wide enough to look around it, Becker saw why.

On the floor, blocking the door from being opened fully, was the slumped form of a man with bloody slashes on his legs and chest. From one glance, the ARC soldier could see calling for a medic would be a wasted effort.

"Becker? Is it...?"

"Unless your nephew's in his late thirties, I don't think he's in here, Jess." He was sure she was disappointed until she saw the streaks of blood on the floor where the door had been pushed open, and then the overwhelming emotion on her face was relief.

"Myers," Matt spoke into his comm., referring to the reserve Field Coordinator standing in for Jess while she was away from work. "Any luck hacking into the CCTV system yet? We've got a missing boy to find."

_"Ah, n-no, Sir. S-sorry, Sir."_ The nervous stammering of the stand-in technician made all three of them sigh. _"I can't get through the firewall, Sir. I'm trying but..."_

"Keep trying, Myers." It was Jess who spoke, biting back a sigh of frustration at being unable to do it herself. She stared at the men in front of her. "If I can get to the security suite, I can help Myers get into the system." 'And find out for myself,'was the unspoken addition.

"We don't know how many of these creatures got through," Matt told her, glancing at Becker. The two men exchanged a glance and Becker nodded in answer to the team leader's silent question. "Becker, you and Jess fin the security suite. Connor, stay with the anomaly. Abby, we'll sweep the building. Myers, get a recovery team here ASAP. We need to start putting these guys back through the anomaly before it closes."

Their orders issued, the team split up to follow them.

* * *

Becker led Jess along the corridor, glancing back over his shoulder at her to see her bite her bottom lip anxiously.

"He's a smart kid, right?" He asked quietly, watching the emotions play across her face. "He'll be fine, Jess. He's just hiding, like you said."

"I hope so." She tried to smile but the attempt failed miserably. "I really, really hope so."

They were quiet as they walked through the museum. Both were lost in their own thoughts, with Jess worrying about her missing nephew and Becker worrying about any juravenators that might e waiting to jump out on the distracted Field Coordinator. Jess, a little voice at the back of his mind said, was not meant to be out in the field. Jess was not meant to be in danger. His Jess was supposed to be safe and sound and waiting for him to get back to her with one of her sunny smiles and... wait, what?

Becker swallowed reflexively, desperately trying to shut down those thoughts. He'd tried so hard, ever since the beetle incident at the ARC, to keep his thoughts from straying in that direction. Jess was _not_ his. She wasn't his to come home to after a mission, wasn't sitting at the ADD just waiting for him... waiting for a man who was struggling to get over his fear of losing her – of leaving her – so he could tell her... Tell her...

_"We haven't seen any evidence of any more juravenators so far,"_ Matt's voice shook him from his thoughts. _"Becker, what's your status?"_

"All quiet so far," Becker reported, grateful for the distraction. "The security suite should be along the corridor and around the corner."

_"Good."_ Matt sounded cautious. _"We found the body of one of the security guards,"_ the team leader said after an uncomfortable pause. _"It doesn't look good, mate, so..."_

"I can hear you, Matt," Jess reminded him, her voice tight. "If we see any sign of... If it looks like Tim... I need to know, Matt. If he's... I need to know."

_"There's a difference between knowing and seeing, Jess."_ Matt's voice echoed Becker's thoughts perfectly_. "Get Myers into the CCTV system then head outside. We can handle this."_

"So can I," Jess protested. "I have to. If something's happened to him, I'm the one who has to face my brother and let him know that I... that I let his son get hurt. I have to live with it. You can make it an order if you feel better but I'm telling you now I won't follow it, Matt, I can't. I need to know. I need to find him."

"You will. We will." Becker stopped, turning to face her. He gazed down at her, holding her gaze. "Don't give up, Jessica. There's still a chance Tim's okay and if he is, we'll find him. And if he's not... You don't have to face it alone. Any of it."

Her eyes shone with tears but she valiantly fought them back. "Thank you." Her voice cracked and she broke eye contact, struggling to maintain her composure.

_"Let me know when you're there,"_ Matt, sounding resigned, sighed over the comms.

"We will." Becker started walking again, Jess at his side instead of a few steps behind, and together, they continued searching for the security hub of the museum.

The room they were looking for was hidden by a fairly non-descript door, protected by a simple swipe-card security lock. One well-aimed blast of the EMD took care of it and soon Becker found himself standing behind Jess as she sat at the computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard as she worked her usual magic on an unusual system.

Over her shoulder, he watched as she located the nearest camera to the anomaly and rewound the footage, freezing and fast-forwarding it at a slower pace once the anomaly opened. Keeping his eyes fixed to the screen, Becker counted the juravenators as they came not, slightly amazed that no one seemed to notice despite the people crammed into the room.

"Eight creatures came through, Matt," he said eventually, turning his attention to the other screens Jess was searching through. "How many are accounted for?"

_"Six,"_ Matt answered grimly. _"The three Connor and Abby got, two outside the toilets and one we found snacking in the gift shop. That's two still to find."_

"We'll do another sweep of the building." Becker let his hand move to Jess's shoulder when she tensed, squeezing lightly when he saw the reason for it.

On the screen in front of him, they watched as a boy – her missing nephew – backed away from two of the creatures in the same corridor they'd stood in just a short time ago. As the boy moved towards the bathrooms, a man appeared, stumbling, two more of the dinosaurs hanging off him. It was the man from the men's room, Becker realised, and he watched as the stricken man shook off the two dinosaurs and stumbled into the toilets.

Jess's nephew _was _smart, the soldier decided, and used the diversion to run in the opposite direction. Three of the juravenators ran after him while the fourth, the one Jess had found, kept trying to get to its disturbed meal.

He felt Jess's shoulders tense further under his hand as she followed her nephew's progress through the museum on the CCTV screens. He made his way around in a loop, back to the dinosaur gallery only to find it was deserted. They watched as he looked for something – his brother and aunt, Becker was willing to bet – and then ran when he saw something off-screen. Seconds later, the three juravenators appeared, only to turn and prepare themselves to pounce on something – or someone – else. Abby and Connor appeared on the screen, taking care of the creatures before locking the anomaly.

"He got away from them." Jess exhaled slowly, relief in his voice. "That's something, anyway."

Becker held his tongue, not wanting to remind her there were still two dinosaurs on the loose. They searched the rest of the footage and Jess tensed again as she watched her nephew race upstairs. She made a small, squeaking sound as she tracked him along an empty hallway only to have the two unaccounted for dinosaurs to appear and jump out at him, knocking him to the ground. The boy got to his feet but was noticeably limping as he ran away from his pursuers. They watched him turn a corner and then...

Nothing. A screen of static greeted them as Jess switched to the next camera feed in the system.

"Matt, last known visual on the boy is a corridor upstairs, heading towards the lifts." Becker tightened his grip on Jess's shoulder when she started to move. "I'm heading there now."

_"I'll meet you there."_

"Acknowledged." Turning his attention to the woman trembling under his hand, Becker spun her chair around and bent so he was at eye level with her. "We'll find him, Jess, but I need you to stay here." When she opened her mouth to argue, he cut her off swiftly, using her own words against her. "I need to know you're safe, too."

After a short silence, Jess gave him a small nod and tried, for his sake, to smile. Acting purely on an impulse he knew he'd kick himself for later, Becker closed the gap between them and brushed his lips against hers gently.

He pulled back quickly, the tips of his ears growing warm as he realised what he'd done. Without another word, he straightened and walked out of the room, leaving a stunned Field Coordinator in his wake.

* * *

He'd kissed her.

_Becker_. Kissed. _Her_.

Stunned, Jess allowed herself a second more to dwell on it before turning back to the CCTV screens in front of her. She continued to search through them as she spoke into her comm., addressing her counterpart in the ARC.

"I think I can get you through the firewalls from here, Myers," she murmured, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand and put all thoughts of Tim and Becker from her mind. "First thing you need to do is create a remote connection for me so I can hook into the ADD and..."

She was quickly engrossed in the task and was soon able to feed the footage of the museum's CCTV cameras through the ADD at the ARC. After she was finished, Jess resumed her task of looking through the camera feeds, watching as Abby and Connor carried the last of the juravenators they'd captured through the anomaly and locked it again.

She watched Matt join Becker in the hallway upstairs and followed their progress until they'd gone out of sight, in the line of vision of the camera that wasn't working. From then on, she listened intently, her heart racing in her chest as it usually did whenever the team were out in the field and she was unable to watch them.

_"No sign of the boy or the juravenators."_ Matt's voice came over the comm., loud and clear in her ear. She knew he was reporting to the ARC and for a moment, Jess had to remind herself that she wasn't there. She wasn't on duty, wasn't working.

She was supposed to be enjoying a nice day out with her nephews, not praying desperately that they'd all live through the supposedly harmless excursion.

_"I've got a visual on the surrounding corridors," _Myers reported, sounding relieved to be able to help at last. _"There's no sign of the boy or the creatures."_

_"Maybe we should retrace our steps,"_ Matt said with a sigh. _"Work our way downstairs and -."_

_"I think I hear something."_ Becker interrupted. Jess sat forward on her seat, wishing she could see him. _"It's coming from the lift shaft."_

_"The doors look like they're jammed,"_ Matt agreed. Jess heard the rustle of material as the two men moved. _"Maybe that's why it's out of order."_

_"The museum website says it's been offline for weeks due to an electrical fault," _Myers confirmed.

_"I can definitely hear something..."_ Over Becker's comm. link, Jess heard him grunt and pictured him prising open the elevator doors. She heard a slight clanging noise, then a muffled curse. _"Matt, do you have... Thanks."_

_"Thought you were always prepared,"_ Matt teased lightly. _"Shouldn't you have a torch?"_

Becker didn't reply. There was a tense moment as Jess waited anxiously, squeezing her eyes shut.

_"We've found one of the juravenators. Looks like it fell down the shaft." _There was another pause and Jess heard a sound she thought she'd imagined at first, a soft whimper and muffled sob. _"Hello? Tim?"_

Her heart stopped for a second, Jess would later swear. She pressed a hand to her mouth as she strained to hear the response, a tear escaping her eye when she heard it.

_"How'd you know my name?"_

_"I'm a friend of your Aunt. Are you okay, Tim?"_

_"I'm stuck. I climbed down but my ankle's sore and I can't climb back up,"_ came the plaintive reply. _"Are you like a fireman or something?"_

_"Or something. Just hold still, okay? I'm going to come down and help you up."_

_"We've got a visual on the kid. Jess, he's okay." _Matt sounded as calm as ever but Jess could detect the relief in his voice and realised he'd been fearing the worst, too. _"Becker's going to climb into the lift shaft to retrieve him. Be on the lookout, people, we're still one juravanator short."_

Relief warring with concern that Becker was climbing down a lift shaft without a harness – to rescue her nephew, who was also without a harness – Jess got up from her chair and strode determinedly towards the door. There was little she could do from the security room and she wanted to be there when both her nephew and her Becker made it back up top safely.

Jess froze, her hand on the door handle as the thought running through her head again. _Her_ Becker...?

She shook the thought away, pulling open the door only to freeze again as a familiar hissing sound reached her ears.

"Ah, guys? I think I found the missing juravenator." As the dinosaur, slightly bigger than the others she'd seen, threw itself at her, Jess stumbled a step back, crashing into the chair she'd been sitting in as the dinosaur stalked into the room. "Or you could say it found me."

She heard Becker swear but couldn't bring herself to smile as Tim admonished him. _"Go, Matt. I can do this without you."_

_"You can't get yourself and the kid out of there without help." _Matt sounded just as frustrated.

_"Matt!"_

Abby's voice cut through their discussion, sounding quiet above the pounding of her racing heart. _"I'm on my way, Jess. Stay put."_

"I'm not going anywhere," Jess murmured, carefully manoeuvring so the chair she'd been sitting on was between her and the dinosaur. "Unfortunately."

* * *

Becker was uncomfortably reminded of the last time Jess had been in trouble and he'd been unable to rush to her aid. As he carefully made his way down towards her nephew, trying to keep from getting tangled in the cables around him, he remembered the utter helplessness he'd felt on receiving the simple text message from Jess.

_'Future predators at ARC. Trapped w/ Lester. J.'_

There'd been no hysterics, no pleas for help. That, and the absence of the usual smiley face and kiss he knew Jess automatically added to her messages regardless of who she was texting – he still remembered her mortification when she'd done so when sending a message to Lester in the early days of the new ARC – told him just how scared she was.

Hearing her voice in his ear, knowing he couldn't do anything, made him feel helpless. He mentally hurried Abby along, listening to her quiet reassurances that he suspected were for his own benefit as much as Jess's as he made his way to her nephew's side.

In the gloom of the lift shaft, Becker could barely make out the features of the young boy beside him. He paused to make sure his foot was secure before letting his grip on the ladder he'd climbed down ease up.

"Who are you?" Tim asked, his voice echoing off the walls around them. "Do you really know my Aunt Jess?"

"My name's Becker. And yes, I know your Aunt Jess." Becker bit back a grin at the boy's inquisitiveness. "Is anything other than your ankle hurt?"

"I got a scratch on my arm," Tim said after a moment's hesitation. "The one that fell scratched me when it went down." In the darkness, the boy peered up at Becker. "Are they really robots? My brother said they are but he's just stupid."

Becker did grin then, not at Tim's words but at Jess's immediate response. "Your Aunt says he's not stupid and you shouldn't be mean."

"Sorry." Tim apologised meekly before narrowing his eyes. "How can you hear Aunt Jess if she's not here?"

"Earpiece." Becker's amusement faded as he heard Jess gasp and murmur something that sounded suspiciously like _'good dinosaur. Stay there.'_ "Okay, Tim, I need you to go up first. I'll be right behind you."

"What if I slip?" Tim's voice shook despite his best efforts.

"I'll catch you." Becker manoeuvred them carefully so Tim was facing the engineer's ladder.

Tim put a hand on the first rung but hesitated. "What if you slip?"

"I won't." He couldn't. Tim and Jess were counting on him. "There's a man called Matt waiting at the top. He'll help you the rest of the way when you get far enough up."

Tim climbed the first rung and Becker felt him flinch as he put his weight on his injured foot. "Does he work with you, too? And Aunt Jess?"

"Yes." Becker followed slowly, not wanting to rush the boy. "Matt's the team leader."

"So he's your boss?" Another question, another step up.

"Yes."

"Do you like him?"

_"Remember I can hear you, Becker,"_ Matt spoke lightly.

Becker rolled his eyes. "He'll do."

"Oh." Tim stayed still for a moment. "My Daddy doesn't like his boss. He says he's an im-im-imbecile. Mummy says it's 'cause he never does any of the work so Daddy has to do it all. Does your boss do that?"

Becker, wisely, didn't answer. "Next step, Tim. You're doing really well."

Tim obediently went up the next rung, and then stopped again. "What do you do? Daddy says Aunt Jess works for the government. He says she's a something servant and that means she gets bossed around a lot and makes lots of cups of tea for people."

"Your Aunt does a lot more than that," Becker protested, a touch defensively. "Next step, Tim."

"If you're not a fireman, what are you?" Tim moved slowly upwards.

"I'm... I'm a soldier. I work for the government, like your Aunt."

There was a note of awe in Tim's voice when he spoke again. "Are you a spy?"

"What?" Distracted, Becker almost missed the next rung himself.

"A spy! Like James Bond? That would be cool."

"No. I'm not a spy. Next step, Tim. Nearly there now." Becker felt more than saw Tim slip and acted quickly, catching the boy before he could fall more than a few inches. "Easy, easy. Just go slow."

Even as he spoke, Becker found himself wishing they could go just a little bit faster. He could hear Jess gasp over the comm. in his ear, then a sound that was half-squeal, half-scream. There was a clattering sound and a low growl, followed by Abby frantically calling out Jess's name.

"Abby? Jess!" He struggled to keep his fear from showing in his voice. "What's going on?"

There was a moment of silence during which he feared the worse and felt something inside him break. Then there was an astonished laugh and a breathless giggle, the latter of which made his pulse race.

_"Everything's fine, Becker. Jess just took out a dinosaur with a computer chair. It was brilliant."_

"She is." Relief made him giddy but Becker kept his grip on the confused boy. "Right, Tim. Just a few more steps and we'll be there."

Tim sighed but did as he was told – thankfully, to Becker's mind, without any more questions. They made it to the top and Matt helped them out of the shaft and into the corridor. The three of them slowly made their way down the stairs to the ground floor.

As soon as Becker and Matt had helped Tim down the last step, the ten year old was swept up into an enthusiastic embrace by his aunt. Tim blushed, looking sheepish, but clung just as tightly as Jess, Becker noticed. After a moment, the two pulled apart and Tim launched into a lengthy, detailed explanation of what he'd seen and done, babbling a mile a minute as Becker and Matt exchanged amused glances over his head.

"Runs in the family, then," Becker commented when Tim paused for a breath. He arched an eyebrow when Jess looked up at him and was rewarded by the sight of a blush blooming in her cheeks.

"He gets it from his mum's side of the family, actually," Jess retorted almost primly. She busied herself by studying her nephew closely, the colour in her cheeks fading at the sight of blood on Tim's sleeve. "Oh, God. Timmy..."

"'s just a scratch, Aunt Jess." Danger passed, the young boy had rediscovered his bravado. "Did I tell you how I got one of the robots to fall down the lift shaft? I saw it in a cartoon..."

"I think your mum and me are going to have to talk with your Dad about these cartoons you and Robbie are watching." Tim was fooled by the smile on her face but Becker wasn't, not when she continued to fuss. "Let me see your arm, sweetheart. Maybe we should stop by the hospital on the way home..."

"Johnson is with the back-up team outside," Becker told her, naming one of the ARC's field medics. "He can take a look but I don't think it's bad enough to need stitches."

Jess looked up and gave him a sunny smile of thanks – the smile Becker found himself looking forward to seeing on a daily basis and realised he'd missed while she'd been away from the ARC. Matt cleared his throat, almost as if reminding them he was there. "Becker, why don't you help Jess get the boys back to her flat? We've got it covered here."

At the sound of his voice, Jess blushed and looked away, leaving Becker to pull his gaze away and look at the team leader. He wanted to agree but felt he should put up a token protest, just for appearances if nothing else. "Matt, I should..."

"We can handle the _security stuff_," Matt cut in, obviously enjoying Becker's response. "Go. We'll be fine."

Unable and unwilling to argue with the order, Becker moved to support Tim as the young boy stood awkwardly, trying to keep the weight off his foot. The three of the made their way out of the museum, with the two adults far too aware of Matt watching them leave.

As soon as they were outside, they were spotted by Robbie, who was stood beside Emily and one of Becker's men next to one of the ARC's trucks. The little boy's face lit up at the sight of his aunt and brother and he broke free from the Victorian woman, racing towards them, straight into Jess's open arms.

"Aunt Jess! Timmy!" Robbie buried his face in the crook of Jess's neck as she stood, wobbling only a little. "I knew you'd be okay!"

"'Course we are." Tim sounded cocky but, glancing down, Becker saw a flicker of relief on the older boy's face as he watched his brother. "Can we have pizza for tea, Aunt Jess? And ice cream?"

"I get to pick the film!" Robbie piped up, lifting his head to stare challengingly at his brother. "Aunt Jess said so, 'cause I was brave and did what she said!"

"Tim can pick what we eat, Robbie can pick what we watch," Jess firmly interjected as Tim started to argue. "Then it's fair."

The boys didn't look convinced but neither was going to protest after seeing the expression on their aunt's face. Becker hid a grin and ushered the group to the cars, lifting Tim effortlessly so the boy could sit in the back of the truck as Johnson, the medic, hurried over to check them over.

"Are you going to stay with us, Mr. Becker?" Tim asked innocently, lifting his gaze to the soldier as the medic cleaned the scratch on his arm.

"It's Captain Becker." Jess spoke before Becker could. He glanced at her and saw her cheeks were prettily pink once again. "And I'm sure he's already got plans, Tim."

"Do you?" Tim looked from his aunt to Becker, his expression hopeful. "We're having pizza."

Knowing Jess had given him an out if he wanted it, Becker was surprised to find he didn't. Instead of looking at the blushing Field Coordinator – or the medic trying to listen without making it look obvious – he looked at Tim and gave him a small grin. "Who can say no to pizza?"

"Yes!" Tim grinned back, obviously pleased.

The medic moved on from cleaning his arm to quickly wrapping his ankle, stepping back once it was done. Johnson, Becker noted, kept his head down, almost as if he was hiding a grin of his own. "Put some ice on the ankle when you're home and keep it elevated," Johnson advised Jess. "It's sprained but not badly."

"Thank you, Adam." Jess beamed at him and Becker found himself narrowing his eyes – both at her knowledge of the medic's first name and the answering blush on the man's face.

"No problem." Catching Becker's eye, Johnson's smile faded. "I have to go. Somewhere. Miss Parker, Captain Becker."

Alone, Becker helped Tim down from the back of the truck while Jess held onto Robbie. The four made their way slowly from the ARC truck to Becker's own, the two boys generating a constant stream of chatter both adults were grateful for as the adrenaline faded, leaving them with only memories of the day's events.

Dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, missing nephews and chaste kisses... Jess shook herself mentally, certain her cheeks were red as they reached Becker's truck. She felt herself blush deeper when both she and Becker reached for the handle of the back door at the same time, their hands brushing for a moment before she pulled hers away and hurried around to the opposite side of the vehicle with Robbie in her arms.

"So what film have you decided on, Robbie?" She asked a little too brightly, needing the distraction as she got her youngest charge settled in the backseat beside his brother.

Robbie beamed at her and she stifled a groan, predicting his response as she fastened his seatbelt. "Ice Age 3!"

Tim laughed and gave his brother an approving grin. "The one with the dinosaurs!"

* * *

"I'm sorry." It was the fourth, maybe fifth, apology he'd had from Jess since stepping into her flat – surprisingly neat and tidy given she had two kids staying with her. Then again, Becker reasoned, she was probably used to tidying – she'd lived with Connor and Abby for fourteen months until they'd found a place of their own.

"It's fine, Jess." The assurance was automatic, but no less heartfelt.

"But it's Friday night, and I'm making you watch a film about dinosaurs!" She sounded so distressed, Becker almost didn't smile. Almost. "I'm really, really sorry. You can make your excuses and leave if you like. I'd completely understand."

"Jess." He caught her wrist as she brushed past him, heading to the open plan kitchen, away from the boys sat on the couch, bickering over who got to hold the phone they were using to talk to their parents. Jess paused in her quest for the takeout pizza menu, looking down at his hand on her arm then up at his face. "It's fine. Really. If I wanted to go, I would."

She stared at him intently for a moment, eyes narrowed. "Then why aren't you? I mean, not that I want you to or anything but if you wanted to go, I'd understand. And I don't know why you'd want to stay, not really, not on a Friday night when you could be somewhere else instead of watching an animated film with the boys and me and..."

"Jessica." It was a combination of the way he said her name and the expression on his face when he did it that silenced her nervous ramblings. Jess stared at him, her eyes impossibly wide.

Becker felt her pulse pick up beneath the fingers he still had wrapped around her wrist. He closed the distance between them, lifting his other hand to tuck a lock of hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. Keeping his eyes on her the whole time, he leaned in slowly, watching for any sign of discomfort. Seeing none, he kissed her lightly, once, twice.

With a soft sigh, Jess pulled her wrist free and lifted her arms, her hands resting against his shoulders as she kissed him back.

Only when the sound of a raised voice and childish giggles registered did the couple break apart, both blushing but smiling shyly at one another as they did.

"Aunt Jess!" Robbie called out, clutching the phone to his ear. "Daddy says you're not 'posed to kiss strange boys till he's met them! He says Uncle Becker better be here when they get home tomorrow or there'll be trouble!"

* * *

End

_Thanks for reading - hope you enjoyed it :)_


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